For those who were wondering (perhaps one or two of you), YES, I am still here! It was a rough summer and early fall for a variety of reasons, and my motivation was in the toilet. I’m not sure why I seem to be coming around in November of all months, but here we are. I’m more in the Christmas spirit than I have been for a long time, AND my darling daughter, Allison, who has been in Australia for the last 20 months, is coming home for Christmas with her wonderful boyfriend, Tom! SQUEEEEE!!
Lack of motivation notwithstanding, I have read some noteworthy books over the last several months. Most recently, I read Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Never Let Me Go,” which was very, very good. 4.5 stars from me (I’m very stingy with 5 stars). https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/never-let-me-go/9780307400994-item.html
Historical Fiction seems to have been the order of the day this summer and fall. I read The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, The Gown by Jennifer Robson (a great one for Royal watchers by a Canadian author!), and a fantastic debut novel, The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott. All featured strong female protagonists. Of the three, I would have to give The Secrets We Kept a slight edge, as I thought the storyline was fascinating. It is described by the publisher as “A thrilling tale of secretaries turned spies, of love and duty, and of sacrifice--the real-life story of the CIA plot to infiltrate the hearts and minds of Soviet Russia, not with propaganda, but with the greatest love story of the twentieth century: Doctor Zhivago.”
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-gown-a-novel-of/9780062674951-item.html
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-secrets-we-kept/9780385693264-item.html
Now it’s time for true confessions, and I’m sure (I hope) some of you can relate. My book-buying habit seems to have gotten out of control (hence the name of this blog). Indeed, I’ve started feeling sorry for my older unread books, as they sit there, gazing at me forlornly while I browse various book-ish websites and click “Add to Cart.” I am committed to spending 2022 making a molehill out of the mountain that is my TBR (to-be-read) stack. I won’t go so far as saying I won’t purchase any more until I’m through my current pile – that would be setting myself up for failure, especially when there are deals to be had!
In my defense, though, I do like to support Canadian authors, and authors of colour, so I tend to purchase recent releases and prize-winners/finalists. For example, a few weeks ago, I purchased The Strangers, the latest release by Katherena Vermette, an author of Métis descent from Winnipeg. I recommended her previous book, The Break, in my June 2021 blog post. I also bought The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia, a Nigerian-Canadian lawyer, author, academic and advocate in health law, policy and violence against women and girls. The Son of the House was shortlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Finally, I am working on a selection of four winter-themed books to read between December and March. I promise a new blog post in the early days of December with the final choices, in case anyone wants to read along with me!
Thanks so much for reading, and stay safe! The holidays are coming and we want everyone healthy!